Advertisement The final furlong: Record-breaking jockey Tony McCoy set for last day Jockey Tony McCoy is led to the start of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse Liverpool, England, Saturday, April 14, 2012. (AP / Jon Super, file) Steve Douglas, The Associated Press Published Friday, April 24, 2015 7:46AM EDT After nearly 4,350 winners, more than 1,000 falls, 20 straight jockey titles and countless broken bones, Tony McCoy will end his record-shattering career on the aptly named Box Office on Saturday. There are sure to be emotional scenes at Sandown -- a racecourse just outside London -- as British horse racing bids farewell to its greatest jumps jockey, who is dreading the moment he puts his silks away for the final time. "I wish I could do it for another 20 years, that's for sure," McCoy said ahead of his final day in the saddle.

McCoy's announcement in February that he would be ending his 20-year career as a jockey has led to an outpouring from the British public -- and no doubt some relief among his fellow riders who have lived in McCoy's shadow for the past two decades. Sandown will have 18,000 spectators and is sold out for the first time in a decade. Officials are putting on special trains from London to cope with the demand. McCoy has been champion jockey in Britain every season since 1996 -- his first year as a professional. He has won every big British race at least once, including the Grand National in 2010 in his 15th attempt, and rewritten virtually every record in the book. The previous all-time record of winners belonged to Richard Dunwoody with 1,699. McCoy surpassed that in 2002 and his total currently stands at 4,348. He has ridden 200 winners in a season on nine occasions.

McCoy -- also known as AP -- is going out at the top, too, and will collect his latest jockey title from former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, one of the greatest footballers to have played for McCoy's favourite team. "AP is getting out at the right time. He is on top of his game and everybody will remember him as the greatest jockey," said Jonjo O'Neill, the trainer of many of McCoy's winners. One person who won't be sad to see McCoy leave racing is his wife, Chanelle. She can no longer bear to watch her husband go to work, as she puts it, "with an ambulance following behind him." Most of McCoy's teeth are chipped or are replacements. He has suffered punctured lungs. He has broken his leg, ankle, thumb, lower and middle vertebrae, ribs, wrist, arm, shoulder blades, collarbones and cheekbones. Such is McCoy's inner will and determination that last year he did push-ups after breaking and dislocating his collarbone in a fall to show the doctors it wasn't sore. This came as he tried to complete his long-held aim of riding 300 winners in a season, something he regrets he never achieved.

"Since he made the (retirement) announcement, it has been a huge sense of relief for me," Chanelle said Sunday. "There's a week to go to get him out in one piece." McCoy is scheduled to have two rides on Saturday -- Mr Mole in his final Grade One race, which has been named the AP McCoy Celebration Chase. He will stay in his customary green and yellow silks of retained owner JP McManus to ride Box Office. By 4.30 p.m. local time, McCoy's career will be over. "I am looking forward to certain things," McCoy said. "Having breakfast every day and not standing on a weighing scales every day. Not getting in the car some days for seven or eight hours regularly, a couple of times a week. Not spending seven days a week literally travelling.

Things like that, I'm not going to miss." Tearful Tony McCoy denied victories in final races of career Tearful Tony McCoy denied victories in final races of career ROB HARRIS (AP Sports Writer) Share View photos Jockey Tony McCoy tours the parade ring after he received the champion jump jockey's trophy, which he has been given permanently, before the last races of his career at at Sandown Park racecourse, London, Saturday, April 25, 2015. McCoy was champion jump jockey for the 20th consecutive year. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland) More ESHER, England (AP) -- Surrounded by an 18,000-capacity crowd at Sandown Park racecourse, Tony McCoy pulled down his goggles to mask the tears. Realizing this was finally the end of a glittering career, this fiercest of competitors - the most successful jump jockey in British racing history - was overwhelmed by the emotion of his last ever race. McCoy wanted to go out on a high, still a champion. He did just that on Saturday by collecting the champion jockey trophy for a 20th consecutive year to take home for good.

The Hollywood ending would have seen his record of 4,348 jumps winners extended, but a pair of third places for McCoy did nothing to lessen the celebratory atmosphere. Saturday's winners had to take a back seat as he was acclaimed for one last time. There was even an AP McCoy Celebration Chase, although the man himself - on board Mr. Mole - couldn't catch winner Special Tiara or Sprinter Sacre. In the final ride of his illustrious career in the Handicap Hurdle, McCoy summoned every last ounce of resolve but 5-2 favorite Box Office was too far behind Brother Tedd and Gran Maestro. ''There were tears coming back on Box Office but I pulled my goggles down so nobody would notice,'' said the usually unflappable McCoy, who is popularly known as AP. ''The reception I had and the noise, it was never difficult not to become emotional.'' The eyes around Sandown were trained all day on the 40-year-old Northern Irishman wearing the customary green and yellow silks of retained owner JP McManus. He spent the hours before his final two races seeming to meet every request for selfies and autographs from fans as he was mobbed around the parade ring.

''We have a very lucky and privileged way of life,'' McCoy later explained, in a cautionary message to stars from across the sporting spectrum. Such is McCoy's fame that the former England and Arsenal soccer player Ian Wright handed over the champion trophy in the sun-kissed parade ring as racegoers sang ''For he's a jolly good fellow.'' And always a champion. Since McCoy's first season as a professional in 1996, he has won the champion jockey title every year in Britain. Now there will be a vacancy. It was apt that McCoy's great rival, Richard Johnson , who has continuously finished runner-up in the annual rankings, won that final race on Brother Tedd. ''In every sport you need someone to drive you to the end,'' McCoy said. But, for once, Johnson would happily have accepted being second best. ''It's a sad day,'' the 37-year-old Johnson said. ''He's been one of my best friends for a long time. It's great to ride a winner but it's an amazing day for him, he's the one we should look at.'' The king of jump racing went into retirement with the acclamation of the royal family.

''To win 20 championships is an exceptional achievement, perhaps unmatched in any other sporting discipline, and he has done it in a tough, exhilarating and often dangerous sport,'' Princess Anne, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, said in the Racing Post newspaper. McCoy has already received two lesser royal honors, and a knighthood could be next. When McCoy posed with his champion trophy, a banner appeared behind him in the parade ring: ''Your majesty, please Sir AP McCoy''. McCoy has won every big British race at least once, including the Grand National in 2010 on his 15th attempt, and rewritten virtually every record in the book. ''All records get broken, I hope I'm dead,'' McCoy quipped. But amid the witty asides, McCoy paused to reflect on those jockeys who have been fatally or seriously injured chasing their dreams. McCoy's own body was battered in the pursuit of glory. Most of his teeth are chipped or are replacements. He has suffered punctured lungs, broken his leg, ankle, thumb, lower and middle vertebrae, ribs, wrist, arm, shoulder blades, collarbones and cheekbones.

However much of a wrench McCoy finds retirement, from Sunday he can savor the memories of a career that produced winners from March 1992 at Thurles in Ireland until this month at Ayr in Scotland. ''I wanted to go out while I was still performing well, while I was still enjoying it and while I was still the champion jockey,'' McCoy said. But there is trepidation about what life without racing will be like. ''Enjoy it while you can because it doesn't half finish quick,'' McCoy said in a parting message to jockeys. ''The best things in my life are behind me ... so it's going to be tough.'' --- Rob Harris can be followed at Reblog Tony McCoy's rides his final race at Sandown Park after 20 years | Daily Mail Online comments Racing legend Tony McCoy ended his career as a jump jockey without adding to his haul of more than 4,300 winners. His two, third-place finishes at Sandown Park in front of a packed crowd of 18,000 race fans brought an end to the greatest racing career in history.

McCoy, 40, has been champion jump jockey for the past 20 years, and when he was handed the trophy for the final time today by former Arsenal player Ian Wright, it emerged that the Irish jockey will be allowed to keep it in perpetuity. An emotional Tony McCoy takes a moment after he finished third in his 17,630th race at Sandown Park Some 18,000 people packed Sandown Park to see the 20-time Champion Jockey on his final two rides McCoy was joined on stage by his wife Chanelle and daughter Eve and young son Archie McCoy, known to racing fans as AP, was cheered on by his wife Chanelle, and children Archie and Eve. In a career that has lasted more than 25 years, McCoy has ridden in more than 17,000 races and fallen an estimated 1,000 times breaking almost every bone in his body at least once. McCoy looked clearly emotional has he waved to the crowd after finishing third aboard Box Office in his final race. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share The record-breaking jockey admitted that, unusually, he had difficulty sleeping last night before his final professional rides.

McCoy has been Champion Jockey in Britain and Ireland since 1996. During his career he has had 4,348 winners since his first victory in in Thurles, in Tipperary, Ireland on March 26, 1992 aboard Legal Steps. His first British winner was in Exeter in 1994, riding Chickabiddy to victory. AP McCoy was reduced to tears as he competed as a professional jockey for the last-ever time on Saturday An emotional McCoy couldn't contain his emotions as he waved to the crowd after his last race McCoy was congratulated by fellow jockeys as he prepared for his final ever race after in Sandown Park Speaking to Channel 4, McCoy said: 'Today has been way beyond my expectations and thanks to Sandown and all the people who have been here today. It’s been an honour and a privilege. I’ve had a brilliant way of life for the past 25 years. 'I think it’s so much easier to enjoy and be successful in what you do if you like the people you work with and I’ve been incredibly lucky in that respect.' After the race, he was joined on stage by his family where he addressed the crowd.

'I would like to thank the BHA for allowing me to keep the trophy. I have had it a long time. 'I don't think I will ever celebrate retirement. I feel more sadness but I aware it had to happen It felt very different driving in and going into the Weighing Room. 'I went into the sauna for three-quarters of an hour and I will probably never go into one in my life again. 'There has been the last time this and the last time that over the last few weeks but this really is the last time. Last night was probably the first time in my life I didn't sleep well. My routine is going to have to change so much I will have to adapt.' McCoy announced his retirement in February but it was only the passing of the Grand National and his last rides at Cheltenham that made reality hit home. The racing legend was swamped by photographers and punters following his last professional race McCoy was presented the Champion Jockey trophy by Ian Wright - McCoy is an Arsenal fanatic McCoy added: 'Race riding has been an addiction. The reason in the last two weeks I have not been riding as much was because I wanted to get myself prepared. 'That is why I announced my retirement when I did.

I wanted to prepare myself for not being a jockey. 'I thought that was the best way of coping with it. It has been easy until the last couple of weeks. I am well aware the next two days , two weeks, two months, two years are going to be the most difficult.' 'I have been very lucky and what I would say to the young lads in the weighing room enjoy every moment of it. 'In any sport to be successful you have to be prepared to work harder than anyone else. I think I have got talent but I have never thought I am the best at anything. When I look back I don't think I leave much behind.' In his final race, he was beaten by his long-time rival and friend Richard Johnson - who has been runner-up in the Champion Jockey race to McCoy for the past fifteen years. TABLE TITLE Cost to bookies when he won the Grand National in 2010 Speaking after the race, McCoy tipped his friend to take over from him next season. 'I’d like Richard Johnson to be Champion Jockey because he made me achieve a lot of the things that I did. 'I would never have achieved the numbers I have done if it wasn’t for Richard Johnson.

That’s no disrespect to Sam Twiston-Davies or Tom Scudamore or Jason Maguire. We have numerous lads who could be Champion Jockey, but personally I would like Richard Johnson to be Champion Jockey.' In advance of his final rides today, stars from across sport, entertainment and racing paid tribute to McCoy, among them, Arsene Wenger, manager of his beloved Arsenal. The Arsenal boss said: 'I would like to congratulate you AP on your outstanding career. It’s absolutely exceptional what you have done and at Arsenal, who we know you support, we are inspired by that kind of dedication, quality and consistency that you have achieved in your career. Well done.' Presenter Clare Balding said: 'I admire him so much for his skill in the saddle, for his dedication to the sport, for being able to stay at the top of his game for 20 years. 'But I almost admire him more for turning away now, for being able to bow out at the top, I think that takes so much courage. He knows he could carry on for another five years but he doesn’t want to doubt himself.

'He knows that if he doubts himself for a second that will travel down the reigns and the horses won’t believe what he’s always believed, that he is the best.' Sandown Park was packed with fans eager to watch McCoy in his penultimate race on Saturday The retiring 20-time champion jockey admitted he went into the final two rides of his career with a heavy heart Retiring jockey McCoy insists he will never return to professional racing after his Sandown farewell Dame Judi Dench, Actress: 'A winner. He’s a winner. I can’t imagine how he is going to feel, I must say, retiring from having such a kind of glittering career. He was born to ride a horse, he was born to win too. It’s wonderful to meet him and be able to say to him, you’re a legend.' Ian Wright, who presented the Champions Jockey trophy McCoy said: 'AP McCoy is made of something else altogether. For 20 years he has been at the top of his game, riding winners, week in week out. I can think of no other sportsman or woman who can match his record.

Like the Arsenal team of 2003/04 he’s proven that he truly is an Invincible. It was an incredible honour to award him with his trophy for the final time on the day he retires.' Trainer Jonjo O’Neill, who : 'He’s a brilliant all-rounder. He was the one man out there you didn’t want riding against you. I was lucky to get a lot of use out of him – more than anybody else. He’s fantastic on the lesser horses and he gets just as much of a kick out of winning a selling plate race as he does the Gold Cup. He gives it the same ride, that’s why he’s very special.' JP McManus, Racehorse Owner and long-standing employer: 'I get enormous pleasure from AP riding. If he is on one of my horses then it’s a bonus but if it’s somebody else’s I still get a thrill out of it. We’ve had many great days winning the Grand National and a Gold Cup. There’s never a right time [to retire], but it’s nice that he’s picking a time of his choosing. He’s an ironman and a lovely man.

I’ve grown to love him more and more, as my family have. There’s something deep and great about him.' Tony McCoy signs autographs for punters on his final-ever day as a jockey at Sandown Legendary 20-time jockey McCoy carries his son Archie, high-fiving racehorse owner JP McManus Tearful Tony McCoy denied victories in final races of career Tearful Tony McCoy denied victories in final races of career No wins for tearful McCoy in final races of record-breaking career, but he's undisputed champ Post to Facebook Tearful Tony McCoy denied victories in final races of career No wins for tearful McCoy in final races of record-breaking career, but he's undisputed champ Check out this story on USATODAY.com: CancelSend A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the Nation's Conversation To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs Tearful Tony McCoy denied victories in final races of career AP Published 2:16 p.m. ET April 25, 2015 | Updated 3:38 p.m.

ET April 25, 2015 Jockey Tony McCoy tours the parade ring after he received the champion jump jockey's trophy, which he has been given permanently, before the last races of his career at at Sandown Park racecourse, London, Saturday, April 25, 2015. McCoy was champion jump jockey for the 20th consecutive year. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland) (Photo: The Associated Press) 1 CONNECT TWEET 3 LINKEDIN COMMENTEMAILMORE ESHER, England (AP) — Surrounded by an 18,000-capacity crowd at Sandown Park racecourse, Tony McCoy pulled down his goggles to mask the tears. Realizing this was finally the end of a glittering career, this fiercest of competitors — the most successful jump jockey in British racing history — was overwhelmed by the emotion of his last ever race. McCoy wanted to go out on a high, still a champion. He did just that on Saturday by collecting the champion jockey trophy for a 20th consecutive year to take home for good.

The Hollywood ending would have seen his record of 4,348 jumps winners extended, but a pair of third places for McCoy did nothing to lessen the celebratory atmosphere. Saturday's winners had to take a back seat as he was acclaimed for one last time. There was even an AP McCoy Celebration Chase, although the man himself — on board Mr. Mole — couldn't catch winner Special Tiara or Sprinter Sacre. In the final ride of his illustrious career in the Handicap Hurdle, McCoy summoned every last ounce of resolve but 5-2 favorite Box Office was too far behind Brother Tedd and Gran Maestro. "There were tears coming back on Box Office but I pulled my goggles down so nobody would notice," said the usually unflappable McCoy, who is popularly known as AP. "The reception I had and the noise, it was never difficult not to become emotional." The eyes around Sandown were trained all day on the 40-year-old Northern Irishman wearing the customary green and yellow silks of retained owner JP McManus. He spent the hours before his final two races seeming to meet every request for selfies and autographs from fans as he was mobbed around the parade ring.

"We have a very lucky and privileged way of life," McCoy later explained, in a cautionary message to stars from across the sporting spectrum. Such is McCoy's fame that the former England and Arsenal soccer player Ian Wright handed over the champion trophy in the sun-kissed parade ring as racegoers sang "For he's a jolly good fellow." And always a champion. Since McCoy's first season as a professional in 1996, he has won the champion jockey title every year in Britain. Now there will be a vacancy. It was apt that McCoy's great rival, Richard Johnson, who has continuously finished runner-up in the annual rankings, won that final race on Brother Tedd. "In every sport you need someone to drive you to the end," McCoy said. But, for once, Johnson would happily have accepted being second best. "It's a sad day," the 37-year-old Johnson said. "He's been one of my best friends for a long time. It's great to ride a winner but it's an amazing day for him, he's the one we should look at." The king of jump racing went into retirement with the acclamation of the royal family.

"To win 20 championships is an exceptional achievement, perhaps unmatched in any other sporting discipline, and he has done it in a tough, exhilarating and often dangerous sport," Princess Anne, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, said in the Racing Post newspaper. McCoy has already received two lesser royal honors, and a knighthood could be next. When McCoy posed with his champion trophy, a banner appeared behind him in the parade ring: "Your majesty, please Sir AP McCoy". McCoy has won every big British race at least once, including the Grand National in 2010 on his 15th attempt, and rewritten virtually every record in the book. "All records get broken, I hope I'm dead," McCoy quipped. But amid the witty asides, McCoy paused to reflect on those jockeys who have been fatally or seriously injured chasing their dreams. McCoy's own body was battered in the pursuit of glory. Most of his teeth are chipped or are replacements. He has suffered punctured lungs, broken his leg, ankle, thumb, lower and middle vertebrae, ribs, wrist, arm, shoulder blades, collarbones and cheekbones.

However much of a wrench McCoy finds retirement, from Sunday he can savor the memories of a career that produced winners from March 1992 at Thurles in Ireland until this month at Ayr in Scotland. "I wanted to go out while I was still performing well, while I was still enjoying it and while I was still the champion jockey," McCoy said. But there is trepidation about what life without racing will be like. "Enjoy it while you can because it doesn't half finish quick," McCoy said in a parting message to jockeys. "The best things in my life are behind me ... so it's going to be tough." ___ 1 CONNECT TWEET 3 LINKEDIN COMMENTEMAILMORE Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. NEVER MISS OUT Sports Stay in the know and in the zone, 7 days a week, with scores, analysis, and in-depth features and commentary.

Tearful Tony McCoy denied victories in final races of career | SI.com Tearful Tony McCoy denied victories in final races of career Share twitter ESHER, England (AP) Surrounded by an 18,000-capacity crowd at Sandown Park racecourse, Tony McCoy pulled down his goggles to mask the tears. Realizing this was finally the end of a glittering career, this fiercest of competitors - the most successful jump jockey in British racing history - was overwhelmed by the emotion of his last ever race. McCoy wanted to go out on a high, still a champion. He did just that on Saturday by collecting the champion jockey trophy for a 20th consecutive year to take home for good. The Hollywood ending would have seen his record of 4,348 jumps winners extended, but a pair of third places for McCoy did nothing to lessen the celebratory atmosphere. Saturday's winners had to take a back seat as he was acclaimed for one last time. There was even an AP McCoy Celebration Chase, although the man himself - on board Mr. Mole - couldn't catch winner Special Tiara or Sprinter Sacre.

In the final ride of his illustrious career in the Handicap Hurdle, McCoy summoned every last ounce of resolve but 5-2 favorite Box Office was too far behind Brother Tedd and Gran Maestro. ''There were tears coming back on Box Office but I pulled my goggles down so nobody would notice,'' said the usually unflappable McCoy, who is popularly known as AP. ''The reception I had and the noise, it was never difficult not to become emotional.'' The eyes around Sandown were trained all day on the 40-year-old Northern Irishman wearing the customary green and yellow silks of retained owner JP McManus. He spent the hours before his final two races seeming to meet every request for selfies and autographs from fans as he was mobbed around the parade ring. ''We have a very lucky and privileged way of life,'' McCoy later explained, in a cautionary message to stars from across the sporting spectrum. Such is McCoy's fame that the former England and Arsenal soccer player Ian Wright handed over the champion trophy in the sun-kissed parade ring as racegoers sang ''For he's a jolly good fellow.'' And always a champion.

Since McCoy's first season as a professional in 1996, he has won the champion jockey title every year in Britain. Now there will be a vacancy. It was apt that McCoy's great rival, Richard Johnson, who has continuously finished runner-up in the annual rankings, won that final race on Brother Tedd. ''In every sport you need someone to drive you to the end,'' McCoy said. But, for once, Johnson would happily have accepted being second best. ''It's a sad day,'' the 37-year-old Johnson said. ''He's been one of my best friends for a long time. It's great to ride a winner but it's an amazing day for him, he's the one we should look at.'' The king of jump racing went into retirement with the acclamation of the royal family. ''To win 20 championships is an exceptional achievement, perhaps unmatched in any other sporting discipline, and he has done it in a tough, exhilarating and often dangerous sport,'' Princess Anne, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, said in the Racing Post newspaper. McCoy has already received two lesser royal honors, and a knighthood could be next.

When McCoy posed with his champion trophy, a banner appeared behind him in the parade ring: ''Your majesty, please Sir AP McCoy''. McCoy has won every big British race at least once, including the Grand National in 2010 on his 15th attempt, and rewritten virtually every record in the book. ''All records get broken, I hope I'm dead,'' McCoy quipped. But amid the witty asides, McCoy paused to reflect on those jockeys who have been fatally or seriously injured chasing their dreams. McCoy's own body was battered in the pursuit of glory. Most of his teeth are chipped or are replacements. He has suffered punctured lungs, broken his leg, ankle, thumb, lower and middle vertebrae, ribs, wrist, arm, shoulder blades, collarbones and cheekbones. However much of a wrench McCoy finds retirement, from Sunday he can savor the memories of a career that produced winners from March 1992 at Thurles in Ireland until this month at Ayr in Scotland. ''I wanted to go out while I was still performing well, while I was still enjoying it and while I was still the champion jockey,'' McCoy said.

But there is trepidation about what life without racing will be like. ''Enjoy it while you can because it doesn't half finish quick,'' McCoy said in a parting message to jockeys. ''The best things in my life are behind me ... so it's going to be tough.'' --- Rob Harris can be followed at Tags Horse racing to bid farewell to record-breaking jockey McCoy Horse racing to bid farewell to record-breaking jockey McCoy The final furlong: Record-breaking jockey Tony McCoy set for last day in the saddle Post to Facebook Horse racing to bid farewell to record-breaking jockey McCoy The final furlong: Record-breaking jockey Tony McCoy set for last day in the saddle Check out this story on USATODAY.com: CancelSend A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the Nation's Conversation To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs Horse racing to bid farewell to record-breaking jockey McCoy AP 3:15 p.m.

EDT April 24, 2015 Tony McCoy finishes an early race covered in mud during a rainy last day of the Cheltenham horse racing festival in Gloucestershire, England. (Photo: Andrew Yates, AFP/Getty Images) After nearly 4,350 winners, more than 1,000 falls, 20 straight jockey titles and countless broken bones, Tony McCoy will end his record-shattering career on the aptly named Box Office on Saturday. There are sure to be emotional scenes at Sandown — a racecourse just outside London — as British horse racing bids farewell to its greatest jumps jockey, who is dreading the moment he puts his silks away for the final time. "I wish I could do it for another 20 years, that's for sure," McCoy said ahead of his final day in the saddle. McCoy's announcement in February that he would be ending his 20-year career as a jockey has led to an outpouring from the British public — and no doubt some relief among his fellow riders who have lived in McCoy's shadow for the past two decades.

Sandown will have 18,000 spectators and is sold out for the first time in a decade. Officials are putting on special trains from London to cope with the demand. McCoy has been champion jockey in Britain every season since 1996 — his first year as a professional. He has won every big British race at least once, including the Grand National in 2010 in his 15th attempt, and rewritten virtually every record in the book. (Photo: 2006 photo by Adrian Dennis, AFP/Getty Images) The previous all-time record of winners belonged to Richard Dunwoody with 1,699. McCoy surpassed that in 2002 and his total currently stands at 4,348. He has ridden 200 winners in a season on nine occasions. McCoy — also known as AP — is going out at the top, too, and will collect his latest jump jockey's trophy from former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, one of the greatest footballers to have played for McCoy's favorite team. The trophy will be kept permanently by McCoy, as it is being decommissioned in acknowledgement of his contribution to the sport.

"AP is getting out at the right time. He is on top of his game and everybody will remember him as the greatest jockey," said Jonjo O'Neill, the trainer of many of McCoy's winners. One person who won't be sad to see McCoy leave racing is his wife, Chanelle. She can no longer bear to watch her husband go to work, as she puts it, "with an ambulance following behind him." (Photo: Alan Crowhurst, Getty Images) Most of McCoy's teeth are chipped or are replacements. He has suffered punctured lungs. He has broken his leg, ankle, thumb, lower and middle vertebrae, ribs, wrist, arm, shoulder blades, collarbones and cheekbones. Such is McCoy's inner will and determination that last year he did push-ups after breaking and dislocating his collarbone in a fall to show the doctors it wasn't sore. This came as he tried to complete his long-held aim of riding 300 winners in a season, something he regrets he never achieved. "Since he made the (retirement) announcement, it has been a huge sense of relief for me," Chanelle said Sunday.

"There's a week to go to get him out in one piece." (Photo: Alan Crowhurst, Getty Images) McCoy is scheduled to have two rides on Saturday — Mr Mole in his final Grade One race, which has been named the AP McCoy Celebration Chase. He will stay in his customary green and yellow silks of retained owner JP McManus to ride Box Office. By 4.30 p.m. local time, McCoy's career will be over. "I am looking forward to certain things," McCoy said. "Having breakfast every day and not standing on a weighing scales every day. Not getting in the car some days for seven or eight hours regularly, a couple of times a week. Not spending seven days a week literally travelling. Things like that, I'm not going to miss." 1 CONNECT TWEET LINKEDIN COMMENTEMAILMORE Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. NEVER MISS OUT Sports Stay in the know and in the zone, 7 days a week, with scores, analysis, and in-depth features and commentary.

A P McCoy Jockey Profile | News Archive | Horse Racing Betting Tips | Racecards, Live Results & News | Sporting Life Sir Anthony McCoy paid a handsome tribute to Frankie Dettori after the Italian rode his 3,000th winner in Britain. 5 months ago Tony McCoy was honoured with the lifetime achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony on Sunday. 1 year ago Tony McCoy's final ride as a jockey is set to be Box Office in the Bet365 Handicap Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday. 1 year ago Tony McCoy looks set to partner Mr Mole in the race named in his honour on the final day of the season at Sandown 1 year ago Tony McCoy received a huge ovation when shaking hands with racegoers in the paddock after his final ride in Ireland. 1 year ago Tony McCoy has revealed there have been times when he wished he hadn't been champion jockey as 'I could have kept on riding'. 1 year ago Champion jockey Tony McCoy has confirmed he will not be riding at the Punchestown Festival in April. 1 year ago AP McCoy confirmed that he will miss riding at the Cheltenham Festival having done so for the last time on Friday.

1 year ago AP McCoy is excited about his potential championship rides at what will be his final Cheltenham Festival next month. 1 year ago Tony McCoy is no nearer to knowing where he might have his final ride as a professional jockey this season. 1 year ago Sir Alex Ferguson has paid tribute to AP McCoy following his decision to retire by the end of the season. 1 year ago Carlingford Lough gave Tony McCoy his first win in the Hennessy Gold Cup a day after he announced his impending retirement. 1 year ago Champion jockey Tony McCoy makes his return to action at Fontwell on Wednesday after a couple of weeks on the sidelines. 2 years ago Tony McCoy is set to return to competitive action in the middle of next week ahead of the Hennessy Gold Cup meeting. 2 years ago Tony McCoy admits his enforced absence from the saddle is hurting him mentally as much as it is physically. 2 years ago Tony McCoy is set to miss Cheltenham's Open meeting and has resigned himself to being out of action for around two weeks. 2 years ago Tony McCoy will not be in competitive action until next week after he suffered a bad fall at Worcester on Thursday.

2 years ago Tony McCoy had a four-timer at Worcester on Friday marred after an astonishing row with a racegoer. 2 years ago Saint Helena will be sent for a routine test after a jockey-switch saw AP McCoy win aboard the previously unplaced mare at Southwell. 2 years ago Tony McCoy set another new career mark as he recorded his fastest-ever century of winners at Newton Abbot. 2 years ago Frankie Dettori and Victoria Pendleton join the new ITV racing team • Sir Anthony McCoy not mentioned in list of presenters<br />• Oli Bell to present ITV’s version of the Morning Line<p>Frankie Dettori and Victoria Pendleton are among the new names revealed to have joined ITV’s racing team in the build-up to the channel’s return to the sport in January.

<a href="" title="">ITV will take over from Channel 4,</a> having won a four-year exclusive contract, and details of its presenting team have been leaking out in recent weeks but the station has now opted to clarify some of the remaining details in a press release.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="">Tony McCoy says he is unlikely to move to ITV in January</a> </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> ITV Racing Tony McCoy says he is unlikely to move to ITV in January • Former champion jockey has one day left with C4<br />• ‘I haven’t made any plans for the future’<p>Tony McCoy, whose work as a member of the Channel 4 Racing team at major meetings has brought a wealth of insight and first-hand experience to the station’s coverage, said on Tuesday that he does not expect to be part of ITV’s racing team when it begins a four-year exclusive contract to cover the sport from January.</p><p>McCoy, the most successful National Hunt jockey of all time and the champion over jumps 20 years running <a href="" title="">until his retirement in April 2015</a>, joined Channel 4

 Racing’s team in November, working on showpiece events including the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National meeting at Aintree, as well as the Derby and Royal Ascot on the Flat.

He is contracted to work one more afternoon for Channel 4, at Ascot on Qipco Champions Day on 15 October.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Tony McCoy Ed Chamberlin, new face of ITV racing, grabs his ‘second chance’ Sky football presenter will switch to horse racing but never lets a day go by without recalling recovery from stomach cancer – and just a little help from Tony McCoy<p>It remains to be seen whether racing has gambled astutely in choosing ITV over Channel 4 as its main broadcaster from next year but ITV’s production team already appears to have made one good bet. Ed Chamberlin, recently named as the channel’s chief racing presenter, brings profile, popularity and decades-worth of accumulated knowledge to the job.</p><p>This is another of those occasions when racing’s entrenched insecurities make its inhabitants surprised and delighted to find some of football’s stardust being sprinkled over them.

Chamberlin has been Sky’s chief football presenter for five years and his decision to make this switch would not be seen by all observers as a step up the broadcasting ladder.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="">Ed Chamberlin will move from Sky Sports to front ITV Racing from 2017</a> </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Horse racing Sir Anthony McCoy wistful as he approaches Grand National as a pundit The former champion jockey will miss being part of the Aintree action next week and envies the choice of mounts open to Barry Geraghty<p>The Grand National, often described as the ultimate test of horse and jockey, will this year also be a significant test of Sir Anthony McCoy, reduced to the ranks of spectators after his retirement last April. He has seemed, on the whole, content that it was the right decision but on Wednesday he was giving off fairly clear signs of wistfulness about missing out on the thrill of Aintree next week.</p><p>“It’ll be a bit different, that’s for sure,” McCoy said as he contemplated his first Grand National as a pundit for Channel 4 Racing.

“There won’t be the same excitement that there normally is. I’m getting used to it.”</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Grand National 2016 Champion Hurdle hope My Tent Or Yours breezes through Kempton gallop • Tony McCoy makes rare return to track to ride other horse in workout<br />• Nicky Henderson pleased with his Cheltenham Festival candidates<p>Nicky Henderson had two winners from no fewer than nine runners on the card here on Friday, but it probably felt more like a treble after his high-class hurdler My Tent Or Yours appeared on a racecourse for the first time in nearly two years.

Tony McCoy also made a rare return to the saddle in public as he partnered Hargam in a gallop with My Tent Or Yours, and both horses could now join the challenge to Faugheen, the defending champion and odds-on favourite, in the Champion Hurdle on 15 March.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="">Nicky Henderson's My Tent Or Yours boosts Cheltenham Festival hopes</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="">Barters Hill gives Ben Pauling a first Grade One win in Challow Hurdle</a> </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Champion Hurdle Carlingford Lough’s Irish Gold Cup win stirs memories for Tony McCoy • Leopardstown victory brings back time of top jockey’s retirement<br />• Ruby Walsh falls from Willie Mullins-trained Valseur Lido on run-in<p>Tony McCoy was back in the winner’s enclosure after the Irish Gold Cup here on Saturday, and so too was Carlingford Lough, the horse who had given him his first win in the race 12 months ago 24 hours after he had announced his impending retirement.

This time around, McCoy applauded from the sidelines as Mark Walsh rode the 20-1 chance to a dramatic and unlikely success, which seemed so unlikely with one fence to jump that Carlingford Lough hit Betfair’s maximum price of 999‑1 in running.</p><p>Walsh had anchored Carlingford Lough at the rear of the field throughout and was still several lengths adrift of his closest rival as they jumped the second last.

He was still last turning for home, but made ground so rapidly in the straight that he was a couple of lengths adrift as Valseur Lido and Road To Riches jumped the last.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="">AP McCoy wins Hennessy Gold Cup a day after announcing his retirement</a> </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Tony McCoy Tony McCoy receives knighthood in New Year honours after stellar racing career <p>• Denis Law and John Surtees get CBEs for services to football and motor sport<br>• Heather Rabbatts made a Dame for services to football and equality</p><p>Tony McCoy has been awarded a knighthood in the New Year Honours in recognition of a glittering racing career in which he was crowned champion jockey for 20 consecutive years before <a href="">his retirement in April</a>.</p><p>McCoy won every major prize in his sport, including a Grand National win at the 15th attempt on Don’t Push It in 2010.

The 41-year-old from Moneyglass in County Antrim, who announced in February his intention to retire at the end of the National Hunt season, rode a total of 4,358 winners.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="">New Year's honours 2016: the full list</a> </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> New Year honours list 2016 Tony McCoy Tony McCoy to receive lifetime award at Sports Personality of Year show • 20-times champion jump jockey retired in April<br />• McCoy was first horse racing professional to win main award in 2010<p>Tony McCoy is to receive the lifetime achievement award at this year’s Sports Personality of the Year show on Sunday.

The 20-times champion jump jockey, <a href="" title="">who retired in April</a>, becomes the first horse racing professional to win the award, just as he was the first to <a href="" title="">win the main award in 2010</a>.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="">Tony McCoy’s 10 greatest rides topped by Don’t Push It in National</a> </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Tony McCoy Being AP review – tracking the jump jockey's final furlong <p>Antony Wonke’s documentary about record-breaking rider AP McCoy offers valuable insights into what motivates a sports hero</p><p>AP is AP McCoy, record-breaking jump jockey whose dying-of-the-career-light is chronicled in this absorbing if somewhat overproduced documentary.

Director Antony Wonke, who also marshalled the recently released hagiography of Cristiano <a href="">Ronaldo</a>, reins it back a bit (but not quite enough) as he shows McCoy – an undeniably dour, obsessive character – on the charge towards his 20th coronation as champion jockey through the 2014-15 season. </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Documentary Tony McCoy escapes unhurt from M4 motorway pile-up • Multiple champion jockey involved in three-vehicle accident <br />• Former rider unable to avoid collision between van and car<p>Tony McCoy, who retired from race-riding earlier this year <a href="" title="">after 20 consecutive seasons</a> as National Hunt’s champion jockey, escaped unhurt on Wednesday morning after the car he was driving was involved in an accident that closed the M4 motorway.</p><p>McCoy was travelling east between junctions 14 and 15 of the M4 when a van and a car collided immediately in front of him.

The van overturned, and all three lanes of the eastbound carriageway and one lane westbound were then closed as emergency services attended the scene and police cleared wreckage. In all, six people were reported to have been caught up in the accident, a passenger in McCoy’s car included.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="">Tony McCoy gives up I’m A Celebrity jungle for Channel 4 Racing</a> </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Tony McCoy Tony McCoy gives up I’m A Celebrity jungle for Channel 4 Racing Reality TV is not for me, says the multiple champion jockey, who promises to speak the truth as he starts his new punditry role at Cheltenham this weekend<p>The jungle called for Tony McCoy, but though starvation, camaraderie and physical hardship on I’m A Celebrity might seem like a natural extension of his career in the saddle, the 20-times jumps champion did not listen. “I did think about doing it just for the craic,” he says, when it is pointed out that he could be in Australia this weekend with Ant and Dec.

“And doing none of the challenges and making everyone starve, because I think if we’d have ended up having a starving competition, I’d probably have won. The worry is that they [his family] will bully you into it, and my daughter is one of the very few people that has control over me. But I’m not sure that reality TV is really for me.”</p><p>Instead, McCoy will be at Cheltenham’s Open meeting this weekend for an assignment that, in its way, seems equally daunting. He has film premieres to attend over the next couple of weeks as well, as Being AP, <a href="" title="">an honest and absorbing account of his final season</a>, is due to launch in Dublin and London later this month. His book Winner: My Racing Life, was published last week.

Saturday, though, <a href="#newsArchiveTabs=last7DaysNews" title="">will be his first afternoon as a pundit for Channel 4 Racing</a>, a switch from performer to paid spectator that is making him nervous.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="">Tony McCoy fails to conjure Box Office magic as he finishes third in final race</a> </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Tony McCoy Talking Horses: Friday’s best bets plus our tipping competition concludes Tony McCoy is to be a pundit on Channel 4 Racing this winter, plus two fancies for Newmarket’s Friday card<p>Channel 4 has just announced that it has signed up AP McCoy as a pundit for the coming jumps season. It’s by no means surprising news because, when he retired from the saddle in April, TV punditry was the only future career that was repeatedly and confidently linked with his name, but I remember him pouring cold water on the idea at the time.

“I don’t know if that’s for me,” was the line.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Horse racing tips Being AP: watch the world exclusive trailer of the documentary about the multiple champion jockey <p>Watch the world exclusive trailer of the documentary about Tony McCoy, the champion jockey for 20 years in a row who shocked the world of racing when announcing, in advance, his decision to quit at the end of the latest jumps season in April. With unprecedented access to a top athlete, the film tracks all the elements that make up McCoy’s life in his final season on the track.

<br><br></p><ul><li><em>Being AP will be released in selected cinemas from 23 November <a href="">and available on DVD, Blu-Ray and download on 30 November</a>.</em><br></li></ul> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Tony McCoy High time European tour began to move with the times | Ewan Murray Keith Pelley, the new chief executive, has a tall order to spice up a sport which if the recent Dunhill Links Championship is anything to go by, is desperately in need of a makeover<p>Thorbjorn Olesen will remember the Dunhill Links Championship fondly forever. And so he should; the young Dane had suffered all manner of form and fitness woes before <a href="" title="">returning to the winner’s circle</a> at the Old Course on Sunday. A year ago, <a href="" title="">Oliver Wilson’s triumph</a> marked one of the most endearing golf tales in many a season.</p><p>Fine winners, and a hefty prize purse, do not equate to an appealing tournament.

In fact, the sad reality of the Dunhill is it has regressed into the realms of the unwatchable; a matter highlighted by the sparse galleries at St Andrews on Sunday afternoon. On television, up against a Merseyside derby plus Arsenal against Manchester United, the numbers cannot have been pretty.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="">Jimmy Mullen and Paul Dunne start in style at Alfred Dunhill Links Championship</a> </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Golf Tony McCoy wins last ever race on Gannicus in Leger Legends contest • Multiple champion jockey rides favourite to popular success<br />• Rider coaxed out of retirement for one-off return to track<p>For the most part, Tony McCoy’s retirement from the saddle in the spring played out impeccably, with victories at Cheltenham, Aintree and Leopardstown along the way, but the most successful jump jockey of all time did not manage to stop at a winner.

Four months later, a brief appendix to McCoy’s record-breaking career tied up that loose end too, as the former champion steered Gannicus to victory here in the Leger Legends Stakes.</p><p>It was, McCoy insisted, very much a one-off, the result of persistent pressure from the former trainer Jack Berry, a tireless fund-raiser for riders’ charities. He also needed a thin strip of leather that resembled a belt as much as a saddle in order to weigh out at 11st 5lb. But if the pounds are slowly building up, his jockeys’ instincts remain sharp, and he seized control of the race from a long way out on the way to a two-length victory.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="">AP McCoy, greatest jump jockey, rides into retirement after 20 champion years</a> </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Tony McCoy Tony McCoy insists the Doncaster Leger Legends race will be his last • Multiple champion is back in the saddle on Wednesday<br />• McCoy’s mount Gannicus set to go off the favourite<p>Tony McCoy is about to have his very last ride in a horse race.

It is a line you will have heard before, just over four months ago, but this time the great jockey insists it will prove true and that he will hang up his boots for good after Wednesday’s Leger Legends charity race at Doncaster.</p><p>“This is it, done and dusted,” he said as he prepared himself on Tuesday. “I won’t be doing it again next year.”</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="">Tony McCoy fails to conjure Box Office magic as he finishes third in final race</a> </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Tony McCoy Talking Horses: Thursday’s best bets plus the latest racing news Kodi Bear coped well with soft ground in the Dewhurst and looks the standout talent in the Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury<p>In case you haven’t seen it yet, <a href="" title="">I recommend this trailer</a> for the forthcoming film Being AP, about our very own, recently retired champion jump jockey. It looks like being an absolute belter on the strength of this little preview.

No release date has yet been confirmed but if any of you are expecting to be at the Toronto Film Festival next month, I gather it will be shown there.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Horse racing tips Talking Horses: Thursday’s best bets plus the latest racing news Tony McCoy has called for the minimum weights at which jockeys are asked to ride to be raised<p>Tony McCoy has called for the minimum weights at which jockeys are asked to ride to be raised.

The ex-jockey’s comments are contained in <a href="" title="">an article in today’s Times newspaper</a> which records that the practice of “flipping”, inducing vomiting after eating, is on the increase, <a href="" title="">according to the Professional Jockeys’ Association</a>.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Tony McCoy Barry Geraghty will be joining JP McManus, confirms Nicky Henderson • Irishman to succeed the retired Tony McCoy as first jockey<br />• Henderson sorry to lose him but says move makes sense<p>Nicky Henderson has confirmed Barry Geraghty is to take up the vacant position as first jockey to the owner JP McManus, ending his time as first rider for the Lambourn trainer. “I think we’re both sad that it’s come to an end,” Henderson said. “We had a wonderful time together.”</p><p>McManus’s team have yet to offer confirmation of the new deal, under which Geraghty is expected to take on the role filled for more than a decade by Tony McCoy, who retired in April.

Reports on Monday suggested no more than that a deal was close but Henderson is certain it is all but concluded.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="">Talking Horses: Monday’s best bets plus the latest racing news</a> </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Horse racing

Question: At which racecourse did Tony McCoy have his last professional race on a horse called Box Office in April 2015?
Answer: SANDOWN